Economic conditions in the UK have worsened during the past few months. According to the Office of National Statistics, the country’s GDP contracted by 1.9% during the first quarter of 2009, following a 1.6% decline in the fourth quarter of 2008. By comparison, the UK’s GDP was still growing in the first quarter of 2008, albeit at a modest rate of 0.4% compared with the previous quarter.
This Perspective analyses the performance of the UK’s largest pay-TV operators, BSkyB and Virgin Media, in the context of this worsening economic environment by comparing their results for the first quarter of 2009 with those for the corresponding period in 2008.